INTERVIEW - S.Africa AIDS war at pivotal point - WHO official

South Africa is at a pivotal point in the battle against AIDS and may emerge as a role model for other African nations devastated by the disease, the director of the WHO's HIV/AIDS department said on Wednesday.

In an interview with Reuters at the Third South African AIDS Conference, Dr. Kevin de Cock said he sensed a new consensus and determination to halt the spread of the epidemic in the country, where an estimated 12 percent of 47 million people are infected with HIV.

"I think the developments in South Africa are encouraging," de Cock said, adding there was a different mood than in previous years among activists, researchers and health care officials attending the four-day conference in Durban.

"Once in a while you get the feeling there is something special... or that the temperature has changed," de Cock said. "I got the feeling yesterday that this is different from the last time I was here."

He cited the South African government's unveiling of a revamped AIDS strategy in March as a positive milestone, although success would depend on concerted follow-up by the government, health care sector and civic society.

South Africa, criticised in the past for failing to take strong action against the disease and for questioning widely accepted HIV science, has now vowed to dramatically expand access to lifesaving AIDS drugs and increase HIV testing and counselling programmes for those most at risk of infection.

It hopes to have one million HIV-positive people on antiretroviral medication by 2011, a five-fold jump from the present number.

If it achieves that target, AIDS mortality and new HIV infection could sharply decline -- about 1,000 South Africans currently die each day from AIDS and related diseases and another 1,500 become infected with HIV.

De Cock said the government's ambitious plan could provide a blueprint for other African nations and allow South Africa, the continent's economic powerhouse, to play a leadership role on AIDS in Africa.

"What happens in South Africa in terms of AIDS in a way may be more important than anywhere else in the world, and for the African continent it is immensely important," he said.

"South Africa should be playing a leadership role in Africa."

Although it has vastly greater resources and an established health care network, South Africa is grappling with a crippling shortage of health care workers that could derail hopes it can one day provide AIDS-related assistance to its neighbours.

Thousands of South African doctors, nurses and medical technicians have left for jobs in Europe, Australia and North America, leaving many communities without a primary care provider.

The exodus has hampered efforts to get key target groups, especially pregnant women and those infected with tuberculosis, tested and treated for HIV.

The government has responded by extending internship periods for qualifying doctors as well as introducing other measures to plug the growing health care staffing gap.